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Upper Mustang, formerly known as Kingdom of Lo, is the upper part (northern areas) of the
Mustang District Mustang District ( ) (from the Standard Tibetan, Tibetan ''möntang'' (), "fertile plain") is one of the eleven districts of Gandaki Province and one of List of districts of Nepal, seventy-seven districts of Nepal which was a Kingdom of Lo-Mant ...
in the
Gandaki Province Gandaki Province ( ) ), is one of the seven federal provinces established by the current constitution of Nepal which was promulgated on 20 September 2015. Pokhara is the province's capital city. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region in Southw ...
of
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
. The ''Upper Mustang'' was a restricted kingdom until 1992 which makes it one of the most preserved regions in the world, with a majority of the population still speaking traditional
Tibetic languages The Tibetic languages form a well-defined group of languages descending from Old Tibetan.Tournadre, Nicolas. 2014. "The Tibetic languages and their classification." In ''Trans-Himalayan linguistics, historical and descriptive linguistics of the ...
. The ''Upper Mustang'' comprises the northern two-thirds of the
Mustang District Mustang District ( ) (from the Standard Tibetan, Tibetan ''möntang'' (), "fertile plain") is one of the eleven districts of Gandaki Province and one of List of districts of Nepal, seventy-seven districts of Nepal which was a Kingdom of Lo-Mant ...
of
Gandaki Province Gandaki Province ( ) ), is one of the seven federal provinces established by the current constitution of Nepal which was promulgated on 20 September 2015. Pokhara is the province's capital city. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region in Southw ...
,
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
. It consists of three rural municipalities namely
Lo Manthang Lomanthang () is a rural municipality in Mustang district in Gandaki Province of western Nepal. It is located at the northern end of the district, bordering the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north and Lo-Ghekar Damodarkunda rural municip ...
, Lo-Ghekar Damodarkunda, and Varagung Muktichhetra. The southern third (lower Mustang) of the district is called Thak and is the homeland of the Thakali community, who speak the
Thakali language Thakali is a Sino-Tibetan language of Nepal spoken by the Thakali people, mainly in the Myagdi and Mustang Districts. Its dialects have limited mutual intelligibility. Seke (Serke, Tangbe, Tetang, Chuksang) is sometimes considered a separate la ...
and whose culture combines Tibetan and Nepalese elements.
Tibetan culture Tibet developed a distinct culture due to its geographic and climatic conditions. While influenced by neighboring cultures from China, India, and Nepal, the Himalayas, Himalayan region's remoteness and inaccessibility have preserved distinct ...
of the region has been preserved by the relative isolation of the region from the outside world. Life in Mustang revolves around tourism,
animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...
, and trade. Mustang's status as a kingdom ended in 2008 when its
suzerain A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy and economic relations of another subordinate party or polity, but allows i ...
Kingdom of Nepal The Kingdom of Nepal was a Hindu monarchy in South Asia, founded in 1768 through the unification of Nepal, expansion of the Gorkha Kingdom. The kingdom was also known as the Gorkha Empire and was sometimes called History of Asal Hindustan, ...
became a
republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
. The influence of the outside world, especially
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, is growing and contributing to rapid change in the lives of Mustang's people. Development work has increased in recent years.


History

Mustang was once an independent kingdom, although closely tied by language and culture to Tibet. From the 15th to the 17th century, its strategic location granted Mustang control over the trade between the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. At the end of the 18th century, the kingdom was annexed by
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
and became a dependency of the
Kingdom of Nepal The Kingdom of Nepal was a Hindu monarchy in South Asia, founded in 1768 through the unification of Nepal, expansion of the Gorkha Kingdom. The kingdom was also known as the Gorkha Empire and was sometimes called History of Asal Hindustan, ...
in 1795. The Kingdom of Lo Manthang supported Tibet and the
Qing Empire The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
during the
Sino-Nepalese War The Sino-Nepalese War (), also known as the Sino-Gorkha War and in Chinese as the campaign of Gorkha (), was a war fought between the Qing dynasty of China and the Kingdom of Nepal in the late 18th century following an invasion of Tibet by th ...
. Though still recognized by many Mustang residents, the
monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...
ceased to exist on October 7, 2008, by order of the Government of Nepal. The last official and later unofficial king (
raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...
or ''gyelpo'') was
Jigme Dorje Palbar Bista Jigme Dorje Palbar Bista ( Tibetan: འཇིག་མེད་རྡོ་རྗེ་དཔལ་འབར།; Nepali: जिग्मे दोर्जे पलवर विष्ट; 1930 – 16 December 2016) was the official King of Mus ...
(1930–2016), who traced his lineage directly back to
Ame Pal #REDIRECT AME #REDIRECT AME {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...
{{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from ambiguous page ...
, the warrior who founded this
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
kingdom in 1380. Ame Pal oversaw the founding and building of much of the Lo and Mustang capital of
Lo Manthang Lomanthang () is a rural municipality in Mustang district in Gandaki Province of western Nepal. It is located at the northern end of the district, bordering the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north and Lo-Ghekar Damodarkunda rural municip ...
, a
walled city The following cities have, or historically had, defensive walls. Africa Algeria * Algiers * Ghardaïa * Timimoun Egypt See List of Egypt castles, forts, fortifications and city walls. * Al-Fustat * Cairo * Damietta Ethiopia * Harar Libya *Apo ...
that has changed little in appearance since that time period. In 2007, a shepherd in Mustang discovered a collection of 55 cave paintings depicting the life of
the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...
.


Climate

Upper Mustang has a ''trans-Himalayan climate'' which is cool and semi-arid with
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...
in the range of . It is in the
rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from body of water, bodies of water (such as oceans and larg ...
of the
Annapurna Annapurna (; ) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the 10th highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the difficulty and danger involved in its as ...
and
Dhaulagiri Dhaulagiri, located in Nepal, is the seventh highest mountain in the world at above sea level, and the highest mountain within the borders of a single country. It was first climbed on 13 May 1960 by a Swiss-Austrian-Nepali expedition. Annapur ...
ranges. The Day and Night Temperature in Upper Mustang according to the months is shown below:


Demographics

The population of the whole
Mustang District Mustang District ( ) (from the Standard Tibetan, Tibetan ''möntang'' (), "fertile plain") is one of the eleven districts of Gandaki Province and one of List of districts of Nepal, seventy-seven districts of Nepal which was a Kingdom of Lo-Mant ...
in 2001 was 14,981, spread between three towns and approximately thirty smaller settlements. The inhabitants are either Thakalis,
Gurung Gurung (exonym; ) or Tamu (endonym; Gurung language, Gurung: ) are a Tibetan people, Tibetan ethnic group living in the hills and mountains of Gandaki Province of Nepal. Gurungs speak Tamu kyi which is a Sino-Tibetan language derived from the ...
or, in traditional Mustang, primarily
Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...
. Most of the population of Mustang lives near the
Kali Gandaki The Gandaki River, also known as the Narayani and Gandak, is one of the major rivers in Nepal and a left-bank tributary of the Ganges in India. Its total catchment area is , most of it in Nepal. In the Nepal Himalayas, the Gandaki is notable f ...
River, above sea level. The tough conditions cause a large winter migration into lower regions of Nepal. The administrative center of
Mustang District Mustang District ( ) (from the Standard Tibetan, Tibetan ''möntang'' (), "fertile plain") is one of the eleven districts of Gandaki Province and one of List of districts of Nepal, seventy-seven districts of Nepal which was a Kingdom of Lo-Mant ...
is at
Jomsom Jomsom (), (Ward No. 4 of Gharpajhong Rural Municipality) also known as Dzongsam (New Fort), is the centre of Gharapjhong rural municipality in Mustang district and a former independent village development committee situated at an altitude of ...
( south of Kagbeni) which has had an airport since 1962 and has become the main tourist entry point since Mustang was opened to western tourism in 1992.


Geography

Tangbe, Upper Mustang.jpg,
Tangbe Tangbe (Taye in Tibetan) is a small village in the village development committee of Chhusang in the Mustang District of Nepal. It is located on a promontory with a good view over the Kali Gandaki Gorge on the Upper Mustang trekking route, b ...
village from above View on Gyakar (edited).jpg, Gyakar village across the gorge Kali Gandaki riverbed in Nepal's Upper Mustang.jpg, Kali Gandaki riverbed in Nepal's Upper Mustang. View from Thsele down to the Kali Gandaki river and the fields of Chusang village, with Nilgiri's steep north face. The main hydrographic feature of Mustang is the
Gandaki River The Gandaki River, also known as the Narayani and Gandak, is one of the major rivers in Nepal and a left-bank tributary of the Ganges in India. Its total catchment area is , most of it in Nepal. In the Nepal Himalayas, the Gandaki is notable f ...
. The river runs southward towards Nepal
Terai The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in parts of southern Nepal and northern India that lies to the south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by ...
, bisecting Mustang. Routes paralleling the river once served as a major trade route between Tibet and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, especially for
salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
. Part of the river valley in the southern
Mustang District Mustang District ( ) (from the Standard Tibetan, Tibetan ''möntang'' (), "fertile plain") is one of the eleven districts of Gandaki Province and one of List of districts of Nepal, seventy-seven districts of Nepal which was a Kingdom of Lo-Mant ...
forms the
Kali Gandaki Gorge The Kali Gandaki Gorge or Andha Galchi is the gorge of the Kali Gandaki (or Gandaki River) in the Himalayas in Nepal. By some sources, it may be one of the deepest gorges in the world. The upper part of the gorge is also called Thak Khola after ...
, by some measures the deepest gorge in the world. Traditional Mustang (the Lo Kingdom) is north–south at its longest, east–west at its widest and ranges from a low point of above sea level on the Kali Gandaki River just north of Kagbeni to at Khamjung Himal, a peak in southeast Mustang.


Transport

Upper Mustang is on an ancient trade route between Nepal and Tibet exploiting the lowest pass Kora La through the
Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...
west of
Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...
. Kora La currently serves as one of the active border crossings between China and Nepal. Mechanized access inside Nepal began with the opening of an
airstrip An aerodrome, airfield, or airstrip is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for public or private use. Aerodromes in ...
at
Jomsom Jomsom (), (Ward No. 4 of Gharpajhong Rural Municipality) also known as Dzongsam (New Fort), is the centre of Gharapjhong rural municipality in Mustang district and a former independent village development committee situated at an altitude of ...
at the approximate boundary between the southern ''Thak'' and northern ''Lo'' sections of the valley, which was in operation by the 1960s. China eventually decided to revitalize trade and in 2001 completed a road from the
international border Borders are generally defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ...
to Lo Manthang. Across the
TAR Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black b ...
border is
Zhongba County Drongpa County or Zhongba County (; zh, s=仲巴县) is a county of Shigatse Prefecture in China's Tibet Autonomous Region. Located in the western part of Central Tibet (sometimes referred to as "western Tibet"), it is the birthplace of the Ts ...
of
Shigatse Prefecture Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê () or Rikaze ( zh, s=日喀则, p=Rìkāzé), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , corresponds to the histo ...
.
China National Highway 219 China National Highway 219 (G219; Chinese language, Chinese: ''Guódào219'') is a highway which runs along the entire western and southern border of the People's Republic of China, from Kom-Kanas Mongolian Ethnic Township, Kom-Kanas Mongolian et ...
follows the valley of the
Yarlung Tsangpo River The Yarlung Tsangpo, also called Yarlung Zangbo () and Yalu Zangbu River () is a river that flows through the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and Arunachal Pradesh of India. It is the longest river of Tibet and the fifth longest in China. The u ...
some north of the border. Meanwhile, road-building from the south was inhibited by difficulties along the
Kali Gandaki Gorge The Kali Gandaki Gorge or Andha Galchi is the gorge of the Kali Gandaki (or Gandaki River) in the Himalayas in Nepal. By some sources, it may be one of the deepest gorges in the world. The upper part of the gorge is also called Thak Khola after ...
to the south, but proceeded incrementally. In 2010, a gap remained but the road was completed before 2015 and is suitable for high clearance and
four wheel drive The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, more often known as Four Wheel Drive (FWD), was a pioneering American company that developed and produced all-wheel drive vehicles. It was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, as the Badger Four-Wheel Dr ...
vehicles. Currently, the easiest and only widely used road corridor, from
Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...
to
Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...
—named
Arniko Highway The Araniko Highway or NH 03 () connects Kathmandu with Kodari, northeast of the Kathmandu Valley, on the Nepal-China border. It is among the most dangerous of highways in Nepal due to extremely steep slopes on each side of the road from Barabi ...
in Nepal and
China National Highway 318 China National Highway 318 (G318) is a trunk road in China that runs east-west from Shanghai in East China to Zhangmu on the China-Nepal border. It is the longest of the China National Highways at in length and runs west from Huangpu District ...
in the TAR—traverses a pass. This is some higher than Kora La.


Tourism

Foreign visitors have been allowed to the region since 1992, but tourism to Upper Mustang is regulated. Foreigners need to obtain a special permit to enter, costing $500 for ten days, followed by $50 per day. Most tourists visit for the region's trekking trails, which largely follow the same trade route used in the 15th century, although road construction is beginning to impact the areas trekking routes. Over a thousand
western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
trekkers now visit each year, with over 7,000 between (mid-July 2018 to mid-July 2019). August and October are the peak visiting months. On August 27, 2010, local youth leaders in Mustang threatened to bar tourists beginning October 1, 2010 due to the refusal of the Nepalese government to provide any of the $50 per day fee to the local economy. Visitation, however, continued uninterrupted beyond that date. Mustang is rich in Buddhist culture, similar to the area of the
Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), often shortened to Tibet in English or Xizang in Pinyin, Hanyu Pinyin, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China. It was established in 1965 to replace the ...
of the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. It is an alternate way to experience the Tibetan culture and landscape to the tours provided by the Chinese government. The Tiji festival in Lo-Manthang is another popular destination for tourists in the area seeking to experience the native culture. The first westerner in Mustang was
Toni Hagen Toni Hagen (17 August 1917 in Luzern – 18 April 2003 in Lenzerheide) was a Swiss geologist and a pioneer of Swiss development assistance Development aid (or development cooperation) is a type of aid given by governments and other agencies ...
, Swiss explorer and geologist, who visited the Kingdom in 1952 during one of his travels across the Himalayas. French
Michel Peissel Michel Georges Francois Peissel (February 11, 1937 – October 7, 2011) was a French ethnologist, explorer and author. He wrote twenty books mostly on his Himalayan and Tibetan expeditions. Peissel was an emeritus member of the Explorers Club a ...
is considered the first westerner to stay in Lo Manthang, during the first authorised exploration of Mustang in 1964. Peissel, Michel
967 Year 967 ( CMLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Emperor Otto I (the Great) calls for a council at Rome, to present the new government under Pope John XIII. He ...
''Mustang, a Lost Tibetan Kingdom'', Books Faith, 2002


See also

*
Jomsom Airport Jomsom Airport (, ) is a domestic airport located in Jomsom serving Mustang District, a district in Gandaki Province in Nepal. It serves as the gateway to Mustang District that includes Jomsom, Kagbeni, Mustang, Kagbeni, Tangbe, and Lo Manthang, ...
*
Mustang Caves Mustang Caves or Sky Caves of Nepal are a collection of some 10,000 man-made caves dug into the sides of valleys in the Mustang District of Nepal. Several groups of archaeologists and researchers have explored these stacked caves and found partial ...
* Sonam Lhundrup *
Tangbe Tangbe (Taye in Tibetan) is a small village in the village development committee of Chhusang in the Mustang District of Nepal. It is located on a promontory with a good view over the Kali Gandaki Gorge on the Upper Mustang trekking route, b ...
* Lo Manthang Palace


References


Bibliography

*
Michel Peissel Michel Georges Francois Peissel (February 11, 1937 – October 7, 2011) was a French ethnologist, explorer and author. He wrote twenty books mostly on his Himalayan and Tibetan expeditions. Peissel was an emeritus member of the Explorers Club a ...
(1967). ''Mustang – A lost Tibetan Kingdom''. Dutton, New York. * Clara Marullo (1995). ''The Last Forbidden Kingdom, Mustang: Land of Tibetan Buddhism''. Photographs by Vanessa Schuurbeque. Charles E. Tuttle Co., Ltd., Rutland, Vermont. . *
Peter Matthiessen Peter Matthiessen (May 22, 1927 – April 5, 2014) was an American novelist, naturalist, wilderness writer, zen teacher and onetime CIA agent. A co-founder of the literary magazine ''The Paris Review'', he is the only writer to have won the Nat ...
(1996). ''East of Lo Monthang – In the Land of Mustang''. Photography by Thomas Laird. Shambhala Publications, Berkeley, Cal.


Documentaries


Lost Treasures of Tibet
2003–2–18. * ''The Last Lost Kingdom'', a Feature Documentary by Larry Levene.


External links

* {{Coord, 29, 05, N, 83, 55, E, region:NP_source:dewiki, display=title Former monarchies of Asia Former monarchies of Nepal Tibetan Buddhist places Unification of Nepal Hill stations in Nepal 1380 establishments 2008 disestablishments in Nepal